Vanity Rules: History of American Fashion and Beauty

by Dorothy Hoobler, Thomas Hoobler

Provides a look at the history of fashion from colonial times to the present day by exploring the different styles that arose with social and economic changes.

Library Binding

First published March 1, 2000

About the author

Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler, a married couple who have written numerous books together, were drawn to this story of great writers inspiring each other collaboratively. Their most recent novel, In Darkness, Death, won a 2005 Edgar Award. They live in New York City.

Series:
* Samurai Detective
* Century Kids
* Her Story
* Images Across The Ages
* American Family Album

Reviews

[Allegra · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Vanity Rules" is basically a directory of fashion that shows fashion throughout the time of the 13 colonies, up till about 2000. Some cool information that interested me was that the notorious model Twiggy really changed the fashion world with her really tall and thin boyish look. What also interested me was in the book it was stressed that throughout our history fashion was important for both men and women. It was also stressed that there were weight issues throughout all our history, including times where fat was "in" and other times where, if your waist wasn’t slimmer that 17 inches you were "repulsive."

I made a text to world connection while reading this book. Right now in America, thin is "in" just like it was in about the 1750's. However now we do not use corsets, but have more modern slimming devices, such as "spanx" and plastic surgery.

I gave this book five stars because it was absolutely phenomenal! Although it is in a textbook form, the authors made it readable and enjoyable from the start to the end. There were also some pictures which showed the styles throughout the ages which just added greatness to the book. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in fashion and wants to know the history which led up to our modern styles.